If you want to know how Shanghai has become one of the world’s foremost shopping cities, look at what shopkeepers are doing with space. Buoyed by massive footfall, they’re experimenting with retail in a way the rest of us can’t, creating proper destinations with personality and a point of view. The latest evidence? A project in the Yongyuan Road District called the Silent Gaze, the Shanghai flagship for the streetwear brand theboyhasnopatience, or TBHNP, inspired by George Lucas and ‘Star Wars’.

The design brief went to Beijing practice FON Studio, with the directive to subvert conventional merchandising. FON responded with a liminal space between reality and fantasy — a place they call a ‘buffer zone with a hidden narrative unfolding silently within’.

The compact concept store is like a film set shrouded in matt black. The monolithic street-facing entrance opens just a crack to allow a limited flow of light and vision — a Vader-esque reference to fantasy villains. Deep-set glass doors on either side serve as the entrance, ‘turning,’ as they say, ‘the act of entering into a ceremonial, deliberate choice’. The interior unfolds in black and grey micro-cement, blended with black and silver metals. The U-shaped negative space flows around an alien circular structure referred to as the ‘eye’ of the room.

Around that, old wooden cabinets, rustic stone materials and worn carpets infuse the space with warmth and texture. The collision of materials reflects the brand’s mission: to transcend trends and embody timeless style.

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